Eeveelution of Heart
by zaphodjcasinova
Summary: A trainer lives in an age were Pokemon and their trainers can understand one another more than ever, and this leads to deeper relationships that the norm. Everything escalates when he enters a secret tournament, but it soon becomes clear there's more to this event than just fun and games. Relationships will be made and broken, friends will be made and lost all with a hint of comedy
1. Chapter 1

Alright so this is my first fanfiction. I'm writing this because I read another Pokémon story, and was disappointed with the ending as well as some of the other aspects to the story. I feel it didn't have a moral or theme, it almost seems like it punished the reader for liking the protagonist. So I was compelled to write this. A story of how I believe it should have gone. This is a story not of gore, hell and monsters. This is a story of love, true heart and the good that lies deep in us all. Cliché? Yes, but that's how it is meant to be. The challenge is not to divert from the cliché, it is to find a way around it. A happily ever after can still surprise when you put the right efforts fourth. And now the disclaimer…

DISCLAIMER: "Pokémon" is owned by Nintendo © 2014. This is a non-profit fan-based story of fiction and should not be sold under any circumstances.

First off, this story contains mild violence, as it takes place in the Pokémon universe were fighting animals is considered the greatest sport of all. Though I will not go into the blood and guts of it, but there is some violence. Also, this does contain some mature scenes, once again not too in-depth, and is not recommended for readers below the age of 16. If anything of sexual or violent content may offend you, stop reading here. If the use of this story appears elsewhere than were I have posted it, please provide credit and do not alter the story. All questions and comments can be submitted via private message and email if you wish. I do not plan to use reader's OCs in this. I have a good image of how the story shall go. If you feel it is good enough and fits well enough to convince me otherwise, feel free to try and submit it to me, however.

So first we'll need a bit of background information. Our main character is Jay, An eighteen year old trainer in the Unova region. He is rather slim and a bit shorter than most others of the region, about 5, 2". His eyes are blue, with dark brown hair and pale skin. His hair is about to his cheeks in length, slightly curved around his head with no curls or bends. He wears dark blue jeans, black boots with blue soles and white socks. He wears a white shirt underneath his favorite blue and black Pokémon league hooded jacket. He wears a blue camouflage beanie on his head. Thanks to a rather common translator, he can understand his Pokémon clearly. As for his personality, I find it best to let it build in the story.

His Pokémon are all Eeveelutions (all female).

His first Pokémon is Jolt, a Jolteon, (it's easy to get confused so I'm keeping the names alphabetical) with a stone-cold attitude. Jolt sees herself as a knight, and has an unshakable sense of justice and an iron will. She deeply cares for jay, and will follow him to hell and back… twice.

The second is Val, a Vaporeon. She is more of an observer. Though capable in battle, she prefers to watch things unfold. She has a deep understanding of emotions and is an excellent person to talk to. She is not one to leave someone alone who needs a shoulder to cry on.

His third is Flare, a Flareon who is easily aggravated. She will lose her temper often, but Val usually keeps her calm. When Val is not around, hell will rise (NO, not the real thing, goodness.).

Next we have Umbra, an Umbreon who has a rather strange case of dual-personality. One side of her is a prissy princess, the other a concerned and terrified child. She often argues with herself, but is quite strong in battle as she switches from cautious tactics to more intercut displays of skill and strength, a very tricky skill to counter.

His fourth is an Espeon named Esmeralda, normally shortened to Elda. She has a case of psychopathy, meaning she cannot feel emotion. She has a blank, objective and factual perspective. An excellent strategist, but a cruel enemy to have against you. Her and Jolt have a long standing rivalry.

Finally we have the three youngest (yes he has 8 of them, I don't need you to tell me that's not normal. He has a special license, what do you want?) Lea, a Leafeon who plays around with, you guessed it, plants, bugs and animals, Glass, a rather clumsy Glaceon who always manages to get herself hurt somehow, and Sylvia (not to be confused with saliva), an obnoxious and mouthy Sylveon.  
So, let's begin our tale, shall we?

Chapter 01: A Place to Come Back to

A trainer dashes through a black forest, fog thickening the air. He could feel the moist air blow past his face as he raced to escape a shadow. Frantically, as it closed on him, he ran between trees as fast as he could, his bare feet pounding against the wet mossy ground. He looked back, and the shadow was gone. He carefully slowed down, and was now walking, his eyes still locked behind him, searching for any remnant of his pursuer. The fog slowly slipped away and he was now all alone, walking through the darkness. Not paying attention to his bearings he ran into a tree and turned, wincing as he fell down and looked up. A tall, hooded figure faced him, a grim reaper undoubtedly. Stunned in fear, his eyes widened as the figure pulled back its scythe and swung it.

"Ahh!" Jay felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as he leaped up from his bed. His Sylveon, Sylvia, flattened on the wall, giving a brief squeak on impact, and slowly slid down it. Jay checked his arm and looked around. It was a bright morning, with a light mist rolling over the land. His window was open with Val, his Vaporeon, enjoying the soothing moist air. Once again, Sylvia squeaked upon finally falling off the wall, and hopped up to Jay's bed. "Good mornings!" she squealed in her ever so excited and squeaky voice, always misusing the plural S. "Bad dreams again?" Val asked in her mature voice. "Dreams are pleasant, that was a straight up nightmare…" Jay checked his arm to find tiny, familiar teeth marks. "You little runt, did you bite me in my sleep!?" jay said, with a voice nobody could take seriously when he was angry. "*Gasp!* I would do no such things! … Ok maybes… possibly, sorta, kinda, yesItwasmes." She quickly added before leaping off the side of the bed and biting the doorknob, indicating she wanted the door opened.

"Hey, get back here. This conversation is not over. I thought someone was impaling me!" "Really? I musta leveled ups!" Jay placed his palm on his face as Val chuckled in the window.  
Jay got up and checked his arm again, then went over and opened the door, Sylvia still hanging from the knob. "You make a better doorknob than a Pokémon." Jay muttered, smiling as he walked down the hallway. "Hey!" Sylvia whined before Val kicked the door all the way open, it squeaking as Sylvia once again struck the wall. Val continued after Jay as Sylvia, now seeing stars, dizzily wandered down the hall after them with her unshakable smile. Sylvia fell over into a laundry basket as Val and Jay went to the kitchen to get breakfast started.

"Sooo is the same nightmare you've been having for the past week?" Val asked, watching Jay pull out pots and pans. "Yeah, the exact same." Jay said as he rummaged through the fridge for things to cook. "Maybe it's from stress?" Jay took a moment then burst out laughing "Hahahah! Ohoohoo, that's a good one." Jay collected himself, and cracked a few eggs into a pan. "Well it's not out of the question with the all the ruckus around here." Val added. "Listen, I live in a house filled with my beloved friends who I get to spend time with playing and hanging out. The only stress around here is that laundry basket crawling along the floor." Jay pointed to Sylvia's basket. "I see spots…" Sylvia said, muffled under the basket as she bumped into the table in the kitchen. "Maybe we should get an exorcist…" Val said, smiling. "And let the church know we are harboring this little demon? No thank you." Jay said smiling as well and frying up a large amount of ham and bacon. The scent slowly drew out the others from their respective rooms.

Lea and Glass, Jay's Leafeon and Glaceon, tumbled down the stairs in a ball, the two of them arguing amongst themselves while bouncing around the living room. "I get the Bacon, you get the Ham this time!" Lea exclaimed "But I had ham last time!" they argued, with grunts and "ow!"s as they rumbled around the room, running into every piece of furniture. Jolt, jay's Jolteon, calmly walked down the stairs and looked over the madness. "They… do know that ham and bacon are the same kind of meat, right?" Jolt said with a puzzled look. "Don't try to fight the unstoppable force of stupidity. It will beat you down to its level." Elda, Jays Espion said quaintly walking past Jolt, who was still observing her sister's argument.

"I'm sorry did you say something? It was muffled by your suffocating ego." Jolt said glaring at Elda. "Bacon and Ham are the same thing you Jackwagons!" Jay yelled over the counter. "No they're not!" Lea said jumping up and running to the counter. "Bacon has is crispy and flavorful!" she said, her puppy dog eyes glistening in the light anime style, along with her drooling smile. Glass jumped in "And Ham is all squishy and overpowering!" Glass added with a deep and disgusted tone.

"How about I just give you BOTH Bacon then…?" Jay asked, confused. "There's not enough!" the two said in unison. "I've got six packs of this stuff, are you kidding?" Jay added. "No! You go to the grocery store once a week, and bring back twelve packs of bacon, which means we can only get one pack each day!" Lea said matter-of-factly. Glass jumped in again "We did the math! So it's umm… Uhh… Two packs a day for… Five days?" Glass looked puzzled, along with everyone else. Lea jumped over "No its six days!" Glass looked deeply puzzled "… Where's the calculator!?" she asked frightened. "Over there…" Jolt said, pointing to Elda. Elda ignored her and kept reading a book on top of the living room TV.

Jay passed out plates of food to each of them, leaving a place for Umbra, who was likely still in her morning argument with herself, and Flare, whom none would dare interrupt in her sleep. Val walked over and lay next to her plate, filled with slices of cooked fish and eggs, and took delicate bites, pacing herself and enjoying a historical documentary on the television. Lea and Glass were both simultaneously grabbing bits of bacon and pulling them between each other before ripping them in equal halves. Elda continued to read her book as she ate a classic meal of eggs and sausage. Jolt was eating her plate, the same meal as Elda, with a nearly hypnotized look as she stared at Glass and Lea and their antics. Sylvia was shoving her face in a bowl of eggs and ham next to Jay on the couch. Jay ate his ham and sausage similarly to Val's pace, watching the same show.

Umbra came running down the stairs, tripping and somehow managing to land on her feet at the bottom. She took a second the check herself, then went over to her plate, on the other side of Jay. "How are you doing this morning, Umbra?" Val said. "I'm doing good… Superman does good you idiot, we're doing well! Well sounds so dull though…" She began arguing with herself out loud. While Jay and Val tried to make sense of the argument, Sylvia starred at Flares plate. Bacon and sausage, still warm off the pan with steamy streams of irresistible scent flowing off them. Slowly she inched towards the plate and snatched it. Everyone was sitting contently at their respective spots until they herd Flare's door creek open. Everyone went silent. Val looked to Jay, "you made her plate right?" she whispered. "Yeah it's right over the-"he was cut short, looking at Sylvia standing next to the plate, eggs still on her face. "… What?" she said before belching out a small flame from Flare's favorite spices.

Jay scrambled as he herd Flare stepping down the stairs. He pulled the spices from the cabinet and grabbed the remaining sausage and bacon, threw them onto a new plate and grabbed Sylvia, squeezed her, making her belch out another flame which reheated the plate. "Hey every-"Flare said before a plate of food stuck in the wall like a shuriken. She took a moment to process it "are you out of your DAMN mind!?" "Yes ma'am, I mean, no ma'am, I mean… bye!" Jay said quickly before dashing into his room leaving an outline of smoke. Flare looked up at her plate imbedded in the wall. "Sooo…" flare started "Don't ask." Val replied.

After everyone had finished their meals, Jay took the dishes to the dishwasher, turned it on then got ready for work. He was a tech at the local Pokémon center. Most of his time he just ran diagnostics but sometimes he did have to make a few repairs. It wasn't the most exciting job, but I he knew what he was doing, it paid the bills and he got time off frequently to attend events. Jay was replacing some old wiring in one of the computers when a large, white haired man, his boss, Dr. Norman, tapped his shoulder. "One of the stations at the front desk is acting kind of weird. You might want to take a look at it." Norman said.

"Ok which one?" Jay replied, with a slightly distrusting look in his eyes. "Oh you know the one with the… lights… and the screen thingy… And the… Ummm…" Norman struggled. "… Would this machine happen to have a large box for a monitor…?" Jay asked somewhat annoyed. "Yes that's the one! The one you… said we… had to replace… right, umm. Carry on then." Norman walked off. Jay sighed heavy and continued his repairs. His boss was a nice man and a good doctor, but had a mild case of short term memory loss. It was usually not a problem with important things, but since he kept forgetting everything Jay told him, Jay knew that meant Norman took everything he said rather lightly, which Jay didn't appreciate. Nonetheless, Jay respected him and Norman trusted him with equipment that saved lives.

Meanwhile at home, his girls all were doing their own thing, except for Flare, who was locked in her room. Glass and Lea were arguing as Jolt was putting bandages on Glass's leg. In their tumbling she managed to bang it against a table corner. "This is your fault!" Glass yelled to Lea, who replied "You're the one tried to throw me into it!" "Enough of you two, sheesh, I can't hear myself think." Elda said, annoyed. Jolt just closed her eyes and let out a long sigh as she finished the bandage knot. Sylvia was playing with her ball and rolling around the countertop. "You two need to slow down. You could have really gotten hurt." Jolt said. "Maybe if Jay got us round bouncy balls for tables they'd be fines!" Sylvia said, her ball falling off the counter and hitting Jolt's leg. Sylvia sat on the counter with a smug smile, until her ball knocked her straight off it. Glass and Lea laughed as Jolt added "Doesn't seem safe to me." smiling. Elda Yawned and decided to take a nap.

Elsewhere in the house, Val was walking through the upstairs hallway looking for Flare. She hadn't seen her around today and was hoping she was alright. Val walked up to her door and herd grunting. "Flare, are you alright in there…?" she said, scratching at the door. "Just go away…" Flare said through the door. Val sighed "If this is about this morning, I can fully explain that." "Leave me alone." Flare replied tensely. "Well can I at least get the plate from your room? We're doing dishes." Val pleaded. She got no response and decided to ignore the warnings and opened the door anyways. "Hey..." Val said softly as she closed the door.

"I thought I told you to go away…" she said, her face resting on a pillow and staring at the wall in front of her bed. "I can tell when something is bothering you. No sense hiding it from me." Val replied with a caring tone. "It's… I'm just…" Flare struggled, and then sighed "I'm just bummed out by all this… "Flare said, lifting her head up. "The pillow?" Val asked, intentionally misunderstanding with a faint smile. "No." Flare sighed once more. "All this, this house, this life… We haven't been in a real battle in three whole years. I feel like Jay is starting to see me like some strong-arm that belongs in a computer box…" she plopped her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. Val jumped up to the bed and lay next to Flare. "Jay loves us all. He always has since the first time he met each of us." Val softly spoke, comforting her sister.

"Well considering… How I… How we all feel about him. It hurts sometimes." Flare said with her raspy voice muffled under the pillow. Small tears started to form in the corner of Flare's eyes. She and the others all loved Jay on a level beyond the love a trainer shares with his Pokémon (This was an age when translators were just becoming mainstream. Before, Pokémon and trainers had never understood one another enough for this to happen). Val felt Flare's sorrow. It was a pain she knew all too well, and shared with the others, except Elda, given her case of psychopathy.

It was a pain that flared up whenever that wonderful warm feeling began leaving her stomach. "… I know what you mean…" Val said. Her soft voice was now tinted with sadness. What world did they live in where they could have a perfect life and still long for something more? To have a relationship with their trainer that surpassed that of just a partner. A bond they knew only another human could share with him. They could share their love with another Pokémon, but they didn't want another's love. They wanted Jay's. To feel his warm embrace around them, their love radiating and mixing around them, becoming deeply entangled on a plane only their combined auras could explore. The boy who took them all in, made them strong, loved them, and taught them true kindness.

Val wrapped her arms around Flare. She too had tears beginning to form in her eyes. Flare had already begun crying into her pillow. Val herself was so emotionally developed, she could only imagine the pain someone as volatile as Flare could be feeling. A torturous pain that she knew would plague her every day after she felt even a glimpse of Jay's ever potent affection, one that would only deepen on days where she felt the absence of that affection. Flare felt Val's embrace, soothing her ever so gently. Dulling the pain and helping her forget it.

Elda, having been awake from her nap for some time, herd the conversation through her almost unnaturally powerful telepathy. Elda took a vast interest in the emotions of others. It was the one thing she could not understand. Her Psychopathy prevented her from feeling any emotion. She never knew love, pain, hatred, anger, sorrow, or joy. The others, Jay included, had never suspected the strength of her telepathy, and never knew she was constantly eavesdropping on their every thought. Though she did not understand these emotions, she knew that sorrow and pain were very strong, and very negative. So she kept all she learned to herself. –What are these emotions… - She thought to herself. –What force could be so powerful, and yet play no hand in reality…? - Elda thought, puzzled. Although she wondered what emotions were like, she wanted to understand them for their power more than anything. She wanted to master this force strong enough to reduce someone to tears with just her words.

Back at the Pokémon center, Jay had finally finished with the daily maintenance early, early enough to get rid of the old station like he had been trying to get Norman to do for the past few weeks. "Finally, we can get this ancient eyesore out of here." He thought aloud. "Jaaaay!" a voice spouted through the air, approaching the entrance to the center. A voice Jay found all too familiar. "Jack?" he said aloud, watching a tall, sleek man burst through the entrance. "Jay! It's been a while!" Jack said, slightly out of breath. "Quite a while indeed, Jack! What brings you to our little town center?" Jay said, enlightened to see his longtime friend. Jack was an explorer, rather than a trainer like Jay used to be. And unlike Jay, he never decided to settle down anywhere and continued his adventures. Jack had semi-long and stringy white and black hair, and wore a grey tuxedo, though he normally wore a rugged black shirt, jeans and a bright white vest.

"I was just on my way from Kanto after that earthquake. They said it revealed a section of caves in the mountains that no one had previously explored. Exciting right?" Jack said in his rather calm and engaging voice. "Did you find anything?" Jay said, intrigued. "Yep!" jack pulled out a few photos. Jack flipped through them, explaining what they were. "Zubats, Zubats and, low and behold, more Zubats." He said comically. "Oh!" jack pulled something from his pocket "And a bottle cap." Jay and him both laughed at the supposed prize.

"Sounds like you've been pretty busy since we did that expedition back in Johto." Jay said. "Yeah, the glory days… But, me showing up here was no coincidence. See, I got word of a tournament that's about to start, a huge challenge for trainers around the globe!" Jack said with wonder in his eyes. "Oh?" Jay said, interested. "It's a race to see who can reach the top of the world's highest peak, an unnamed mountain somewhere here in Unova. Someone owns the whole mountain, and is hosting the tournament, but get this. I was told the prize for being the first to reach the peak was one wish!" Jack whispered. "A wish?" Jay said, confused. "Yep, one wish, of anything you want. Cool huh?" jack said, snapping out of his daydream of climbing the peak.

"Well… I know no man, even one with that much wealth, can grant any true wishes, but I'd like to see what he could offer that he would call a wish." Jay said, skeptical but interested. Jack hopped up "Me, Aero and Maine are gonna try our luck! You should join in!" He said, his face lighting up. "I dunno. It's been a while since me and the girls have actually left the city, let alone fought in a competition. Sylvia's never even been in an actual competition before. "Jay said, thinking. "C'mon, Jay! You've been stuck in this town for three whole years, don't you want to relive the good ol' days, even just for a few weeks?" Jack pleaded. "… well, it would be nice to see some of the world again… but, I'll have to think about it. When does this tournament start?" Jay asked. "It's in three days. I'll be in town for the next two to stock up on supplies and get ready." Jack replied.

One of the station's screens was starting to go fuzzy. "Well, I've gotta get back to work, Jack. I'll talk to you after work tomorrow with my answer. "Jay said as he began rushing over to the station. "Alright, we can finish catching up then. I'll send you the details later today. See ya!" Jack said as he rushed out the door. "Good seeing you again, Jack." Jay said as he fiddled with the wires. He found the video cable was a little tattered. One of the patients must have chewed it up at some point. "Now for that old station…" Jay said, standing up.

Just as he made his way to it, Norman jumped over. "Hey, why are you still here?" He said, blocking Jay from reaching the station. "Oh I just need to get this-"Jay was interrupted. "Ah ah, the center can't afford overtime this week, head on home Jay." Norman said. "But I just need to-"jay was once again interrupted "Home!" Norman shouted, pushing Jay out the door. Norman walked back into the lobby. He could hear jay yelling in frustration outside before finally making his way back home. Norman looked left, then right, shiftily, then ran over to the old station, popped open the monitor and pulled out a picture of a deluxe, triple decker cake. "No one will understand our love" he said before dashing off back to his office.

Jay unlocked the door and walked through. He found Lea and Glass both playing a racing video game on the television. Jolt and Elda were locked in one of their ludicrously long chess matches. Umbra was tentatively staring at a painting on the wall. "Umbra, are you feeling alright?" Jay asked, closing the door and putting his blue and black tote bag on the floor. "Is it a plane… or a rabbit…?" she said tilting her head. "Uhhh…" Jay said, concerned as he raised an eyebrow. The painting in question was of a boat out in the ocean during a massive storm. "Don't worry, she's only been staring at it for about three minutes. " Jolt said, not taking her eyes off the chess game.

"Well, Umbra, that's a picture of a research boat that was in the ocean during a non-forecasted storm. The last owner said that on some nights you can see the waves moving. I heard that the boat was actually saved because of a Pokémon onboard who braved the storm outside to fix a jammed rudder." Jay said, also now staring into the painting and imagining how the tale had unfolded.

Umbra snapped out of her trance and looked up at Jay. "So it's not a plane OR a rabbit?" she asked, now sounding normal. "Nope. Looks like you were both wrong this time." He said, smiling. Umbra looked a bit puzzled and said "Actually they were both my idea. She took a nap for a while and I was kinda lonely so I came out here to wait for you to come home, but then I saw the painting and I…" Umbra stopped, once again mesmerized by the painting. "Maybe we DO need an exorcist…" Jay smiled and looked for Val to share the joke with. But she was nowhere to be seen. Jay went off to look for Val.

Meanwhile, Jolt smiled wide and jumped up "Ha! Check bi-yach!" She had Elda's king pinned in. Elda looked a bit annoyed by Jolt's comment. "Not the kind language I was hoping for today." Elda said with her calm and daunting attitude. "No way out this time, I've got you pinned. This time I win!" Jolt said with a big smug smile on her face. Elda placed her paw on her king. Jolt, certain she was giving up, hopped up, ready to exclaim her victory. Then Elda smirked and moved her king a single space. "Checkmate." Elda said as she hopped off the table and walked off.

Jolt, frozen and still smiling, took a moment to look at the board. Umbra, Glass and Lea all looked at her. Jolt's expression slowly grinded to a look of absolute hatred as she growled in pure anger, began foaming at the mouth and dropped to the floor, having a rage-induced seizure whilst screaming a thousand different curses at Elda. Glass yelled "Shes gonna blow!" as the others all ran for cover. Sylvia came running into the room. "We're blowing up balloons!?" she said with an excited smile, and then her face instantly went white as she saw Jolt, now red and steaming. Jolt blew into a miniature nuclear explosion, the force of which blew Sylvia straight down the hall. "Ow, ow, ow!" Sylvia exclaimed hitting a variety of furniture as she flew, eventually flying into the laundry basket again.

Elsewhere, Jay knocked on Val's door. "Hey Val, are you in there?" he asked. "She decided to go to sleep early today…" Flare said, standing behind Jay. "Oh. Umm. Ok…" Jay replied, surprised Flare was still awake at this hour. Usually him and Val would talk about the day and hang out while the day came to a close. "Hey... Umm Jay?" Flare said, looking a down, towards the ground. "Yeah?" Jay responded. "uh… Can we talk?" She asked with her voice unusually soft. "Huh? Oh, if this is about this morning I can fully explain. There was a ghost, see and-"Jay rambled. "No, it's not about that. Val explained all that to me after you left." Flare said, smirking a bit, but still staring at the ground, her expression still saddened. "Oh. Alright" Jay responded.

Jay and Flare sat down in the hall upstairs, away from the anarchy below them. "Jay… I've known you and long time now and there's something I wanted to tell you… I… um… I-"She was cut off. "Oh, umm, sorry but I have some important news I just remembered. I know how much you enjoy battles, so I thought you might like this. Jack came by the center today and told me about a new tournament coming up and he invited me to join in. all the best trainers from around the world are gonna be there! Doesn't it sound great?" Jay said, smiling.

Flare put on a fake smile back and tried to hide her sorrow. "Uh yeah, that sounds great." "So what did you want to tell me again?" Jay asked. "Oh…" Flare looked down to hide her face. She wasn't sure if she could hide her expression anymore. "It's nothing, never mind…" She said, still hiding her expression. "Oh, alright then. I'm gonna go tell the others." Jay said, as he stood up and started down the stairs. Flare tried hard, fighting the urge to run after him and scream her feelings. But, a new set of battles meant Jay would have a use for her. It wasn't nearly what she wanted, but it was something. And it had Jay in it. Besides, if she blurted out her feelings now, she might ruin the whole event for Jay and ruin what relationship they did share. She wanted him to be happy most of all.

Flare wandered into her room, slid under the covers of her heated blanket and closed her eyes. She thought about what she just passed up today. When would she ever have a chance like this again, a time when she had the courage to speak just three words to Jay "I Love You…" she muttered almost silently under the blankets, tears now streaming from her closed eyes as she tried to drift into sleep.

Jay walked in downstairs to Glass and Lea holding Jolt back from ripping Elda apart. "I'll kill you, you smug son of a bitch!" She growled with immense hatred. "It's not my fault you can't see a counter move coming." Elda teased. "Umm, hi?" Jay said uncomfortably. All the girls turned to look to jay. Sylvia's basket slid across the floor "Oh hey, Mr Spots! It's nice to see you agains!" she muttered dizzily.

"Ooook, so group meeting everyone." Jay said. All the girls, aside from Flare and Val, gathered up around Jay. "So I saw Jack today, and he told me about a tournament coming up." All the girls, save for Jolt and Elda, "Oooo"'d in interest. "Jack invited me to visit him tomorrow, and he wants to know whether I'm in or out. So, I wanted to leave it up to a vote. Who wants in?" all the girls cheered in excitement, while Jolt and Elda gave dull "Why not" responses.

In the neighboring room, Val laid in her bed listening to the commotion, still awake. She contemplated her and Flare's conversation. She had told flare to tell Jay how she felt. To let him know about the torture she's suffered for almost six years now. –Can I really sit by and watch this? - Val wondered. What if Jay didn't share the same feelings for her? It would crush Flare and the rest of them knowing Jay never felt the same about any of them.

Val decided that she couldn't let him go on without telling him her own feelings as well. Val began coming up with some kind of plan to tell Jay her true feelings as well during the tournament…

(and so our tale has begun, with drama, comedy, and soon, action!)


	2. Chapter 2: All In

Chapter 02: All in

A figure stood at the edge of a cliff, the moon and stars contrasting against them, making their front appear black. Jay approached the figure from the forest. "Hello? Can you help me?" Jay asked. The figure opened his eyes and looked to Jay. "… Jay. If you value both your sanity and lifestyle... You'll heed my warning. All you'll find in this tournament will be pain you've worked your whole life to avoid." the figure backed slowly closer to the edge. "What? Hey, watch out you're-"the figure cut him off, lifting their arms up halfway to their sides "Tread lightly …" the figure tilted back. "Hey wait!" Jay yelled and ran, just as the figure dropped over the edge.

Jay gasped as he woke in his bed. He was covered in sweat and could hear the faint sounds of Lea and Glass' anarchy outside his door. He looked at the clock puzzled. It wasn't normal for them to be up before him. Jay walked outside his door and wiped the sweat from his forehead. As he walked down the hall he could hear the rattling of kitchenware. Jay turned the corner of the hall to find Glass and Lea, and a pan on the stove now shooting flames towards the ceiling.

"Dangit I knew I shoulda listened to the fire alarm salesman!" jay yelled as he dashed over to the sink, barely dodging the roaring flames as he opened the lower cabinet and pulled out an extinguisher. He pulled the lever and out sprayed a cloud of CO2, extinguishing the flames. Jay breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and then looked closer at the burnt contents of the pan to see a pile of bacon, now fully cooked. Jay slapped his hand onto his face and turned his head towards Glass and Lea.

They both had guilty smiles as they shrugged. "Someone wanna explain why I woke up to Dante's Inferno over here?" jay said, his hand now at his chin. "… Ok it was Lea! Her idea, not mine!" Glass said pointing. "What!? No it wasn't!" Lea replied defensively. "Thank goodness you showed up! She wanted to burn the whole city!" Glass began, clearly exaggerating. "No! I didn't light the pan, I'm not a pyromaniac and if you keep having these world domination delusions about me, I'm gonna kill you!" Lea replied quickly. "See! It's already starting!" Glass said dramatically.

"Run before she gets you too! I'll distract her!" Glass then pushed Lea off the counter and darted up the stairs. "Get back here and tell him the truth!" Lea demanded, running after her. Jay let out long sigh and began cleaning up the mess and getting an actually edible meal started. He could hear Lea and Glass' rumbling upstairs.

Jay wondered what it had been like for Jack all this time. Back when he and Jay had competed in the Pokémon league, they would go night and day dealing with mishaps like this. But Jay had grown tired of the lifestyle, and wanted to have some place to call his own. Jack had always been contempt with running around and going on various adventures, but for some reason, Jay felt it just wasn't fitting to him. He felt there was more to be enjoyed by him and his companions.

"You look like your deep in thought." Val said, as Jay snapped out of his daydreaming. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you come out. Breakfast will be done soon, I just gotta find something to cook to replace all the meat those two just disintegrated." Jay said. Val looked into the brunt pan "It doesn't look too bad." Val said optimistically. Her breath, however, was enough to cause the bacon to crumble to dust. "If we were cremating the food products in the house it would be fine." Jay said, now with a faint smile as he pulled out some leftovers from the night before's dinner.

"Before I forget, I'd like to hear your vote on the tournament. I want to make sure everyone is onboard with this." Jay said as he fired up the stove, which let out a brief plume of fire as it burned off the excess gas from the morning's inferno. "It sounds like fun to me." Val said, as she jumped off the counter to the floor. "By the way, you might want to check your eyebrows." Val added with a smile before running off down the hall. "What?! Hey, you better be kidding Val! I'm serious! You know how insecure I am about my facial hair! … Val?!" Jay yelled down the hall, now a bit panicked.

Elsewhere in the city, Jack jumped out of the shower, fresh and ready for the day. "Ahhh… it's been weeks since I've had a nice shower… you really miss commodities like that when you're scouring a cave for a bottle cap…" Jack said with a mixed attitude. Phil, Jack's Lucario, was sitting at the hotel room couch, flipping through channels. "There's a ghost hunting show on at 9pm today." Phil said with his paw against his face, bored. Jack looked over to Phil while he put on his vest. "I once shot a man with a blank round and danced on his grave during his wedding day…" Jack said, testing Phil. "Yeah that's great…" Phil responded, clearly paying no attention.

Jack sighed and walked over to the phone to order room service. "Where is Maine and Aero anyways? The daycare said they'd be transferred to the hotel pc soon but I still haven't gotten any new emails." Jack asked just before dialing the phone. "All I know is the television industry is dying" Phil said before tossing the remote into a pillow. "Yeah, I'd like to order some room service… Whatever today's special is, I'll just get two of those. Thanks." Jack hung up the phone and jumped over to the couch.

"You should take a second to actually enjoy the down time we get here. This is the kind of lifestyle SOME Pokémon dream of, you know. "Jack said to Phil as he intentionally hogged half the couch. "If liking what I do for a living is wrong, I don't want to be right. I honestly don't know how Jay and those girls stand living like this." Phil said, a bit aggravated that Jack interrupted the little comfort he got in lounging on the sofa.

"That's because Jay and them know how to relax. Maybe I should book you for the spa tonight. Then you can try your luck with one of the masseurs" Jack said with a smug grin on his face as he nudged Phil. Phil blushed with his eyes wide. "FIRST OF ALL-"Phil was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Wow that was fast." Jack said happily as he jumped off the sofa and ran to answer the door. Phil sighed and picked up the remote to continue his channel surfing.

Elsewhere, Jay had gone off to work while the girls went about their usual day. Later in the day, as jay was looking into some strange activity on the computer network, Norman ran by. "Oh, hey, Dr. Norman, I wanted to ask you something." Jay called out. "What!? There's no cake in the company fridge!" Norman replied frantically. "Cake? What?" Jay replied confused. "Who said anything about cake!? There's never been any cake, cake is just a myth! … You needed something?" Norman replied as he collected himself.

"Umm… yeah, I wanted to ask for next week off. I was invited to a tournament recently, and-"Norman cut Jay off "Ah, say no more. You've accumulated enough vacation days anyways, might as well use up some before the medical conference next month." Norman said professionally. "Oh, well alright then, thanks. Umm, but before I go today, I wanted to warn you, there's been some strange happening on the servers lately." Jay said, somewhat concerned. "Ok, how would I go about checking that out?" Norman asked a bit puzzled.

"Well, first you'll need to run a few security scans, then check the log files for anything suspicious, and after that look at a few of the running services and-" Jay was cut off. "Magic, got it." Norman replied, satisfied with his response. "… I'll just look into it when I get back. Thank you, sir." Jay said thankfully, but still a bit concerned. "No problem… Oh, and Jay" Norman said, with a faint smile on his face. "Yes, sir?" Jay replied. "Did you shave your eyebrows?" Norman asked. "Dammit!" Jay yelled as he darted out the door. Norman, a bit puzzled, shrugged and continued his day.

Jack sat idly at a table in a restaurant. It was a small hole-in-the-wall kind of place. When Jay and he were on their adventures, they used to enjoy eating at these kinds of places often. As jack reminisced about their past, Jay arrived. "Old habits die hard I guess?" Jay said as he sat across from Jack, who was sitting with his feet up on the table. "Well, I always did like these kinds of places. The atmosphere feels more like were guests and not customers." Jack said with a contempt attitude.

"Yeah… Well, I'll get right to the point." Jay replied. "So you got your answer?" Jack asked, somewhat surprised. "Yeah… it looks like I'm in." Jay said, smiling a bit at the thought of the adventure to ensue. Their drinks arrived at the table. "Great! I'm actually surprised. I was thinking you had some kind of grievance from our last adventure back in Evergrande." Jack said, having now removed his feet from the table.

Jay had an optimistic smile on his face as he moved to take a drink, but he froze up with his eyes wide. "Jay? Hey, Jay! Are you alright?" Jack asked with concern. Jay snapped out of his paralysis "Yeah… I just… felt like I'd forgotten something…" He said, regaining his composure. Jay remembered this sensation. It was as if he'd been here before. As if he was in a situation just like this at one time, but he couldn't remember when or where. All he knew is it marked something. It created a fleeting feeling that was vaguely familiar.


End file.
